JANESVILLE — The Cozy Inn Restaurant, Wisconsin’s oldest Chinese restaurant, is set to refurbish its iconic neon sign.
The sign, which came down Wednesday, has been a fixture in the downtown Janesville skyline for years and is in need of some TLC.
The restaurant received a $40,000 grant from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program, presented by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to help pay for the refurbishment. The grant program is designed to help historic small restaurants preserve their cultural and economic significance.
The sign will be restored to its original condition, with all of the original neon tubing being replaced.
The work is being done by JNB Signs of Janesville and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The company posted a photo later in the day Wednesday of the sign it its shop.
Currently run by Tom and Amanda Fong, the Cozy Inn was founded in 1922 by Fong’s great-grandfather, Tom Fong Sr. The restaurant has been a popular destination for locals and tourists alike ever since.
In addition to the neon sign, the restaurant will also be making some other improvements to its exterior.
The Cozy Inn Restaurant is located at 101 W. Milwaukee St. in Janesville. It is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
This story was written with the help of Google’s Bard AI and edited in the newsroom for clarity and accuracy.